Softwr

Government · head to head

Polco vs Silent Eight

Polco logo

Polco

Government

Civic Engagement and Polling Platform

From
$300/month
Free plan
No
Silent Eight logo

Silent Eight

Cybersecurity

AI adjudication of sanctions screening and AML alerts

From
On request
Free plan
No

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Polco interface has a formal, academic tone compared to modern civic engagement platforms; Silent Eight automated disposition has to clear model risk governance and a regulator, and the shadow running period before auto-close is permitted can consume most of the first year of the contract.
  • They diverge on capability: Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Silent Eight covers Alert adjudication.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Polco and Silent Eight actually diverge.

Attributes where Polco and Silent Eight differ
AttributePolcoSilent Eight
Starting price$300/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Linux
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Polco

  • Scientific Surveys
  • Live Polling
  • Community Benchmarking
  • Priority-Based Budgeting
  • Demographic Analysis
  • NRC Surveys
  • ArcGIS
  • Social Media

Only in Silent Eight

  • Alert adjudication
  • Narrative generation
  • Name screening automation
  • Quality assurance
  • Shadow mode
  • Model transparency reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Polco

  • Citizen Servicesnot Silent Eight
  • Records Managementnot Silent Eight
  • Public Safetynot Silent Eight
  • Civic Engagementnot Silent Eight

Silent Eight

  • A bank whose level one screening team spends most of its time closing obvious false name matchesnot Polco
  • A payments institution with alert volumes growing faster than it can recruit and train analystsnot Polco
  • A compliance function asked by a regulator to demonstrate consistency of alert decisions across offshore teamsnot Polco
  • An institution that has just tightened screening thresholds after an enforcement action and cannot staff the resulting alert increasenot Polco

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Polco

  • Interface has a formal, academic tone compared to modern civic engagement platforms
  • Emphasizes surveys and benchmarking over open discussion forums and idea boards
  • Pricing is custom quote-based without transparent pricing on the website

Silent Eight

  • Automated disposition has to clear model risk governance and a regulator, and the shadow running period before auto-close is permitted can consume most of the first year of the contract.
  • It does not improve detection, so an institution with a poorly tuned monitoring system automates the handling of bad alerts rather than fixing why they exist.
  • Pricing is tied to alert volume, which means efficiency gains elsewhere that reduce alerts also reduce the vendor bill in a way sales teams structure minimums against.
  • The headcount saving is only realised if the institution actually reduces the analyst pool, and many banks redeploy rather than cut, leaving the business case unrealised on paper.
  • As a mid-sized private vendor serving tier one banks, concentration risk cuts both ways; the loss of one large client materially affects the company, and buyers should ask about financial stability during diligence.

Pricing, plan by plan

Polco

$300/month
  • Community Engagement$300/month
    • Community Surveys
    • Live Polling
    • Benchmarking

Silent Eight

On request
  • Iris$undefined/year
    • Priced by alert volume adjudicated
    • Deploys against existing screening and monitoring systems
    • Shadow mode evaluation period

Which should you pick?

Choose Polco if

  • You need scientific surveys.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want live polling.

Choose Silent Eight if

  • You need alert adjudication.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want narrative generation.

Questions people ask

Is Polco or Silent Eight better?
Neither clearly leads. Polco starts at $300/month and Silent Eight at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Polco or Silent Eight?
Polco starts at $300/month and Silent Eight at On request.
Does Polco or Silent Eight run on more platforms?
Polco runs on Web, Ios, Android. Silent Eight runs on Web, Linux.
What is Polco best used for?
Polco is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what Silent Eight is typically brought in for.
What can Polco do that Silent Eight cannot?
Polco covers Scientific Surveys, Live Polling, Community Benchmarking, Priority-Based Budgeting. Silent Eight covers Alert adjudication, Narrative generation, Name screening automation, Quality assurance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Polco: How does Polco ensure survey data quality?

Polco uses scientific survey methodology through the National Research Center, with pre-tested survey questions and verification that participants live in the surveyed area to eliminate outside interference and bad-faith responses.

Source
Silent Eight: Does Silent Eight replace our screening system?

No. It consumes alerts from your existing screening and monitoring systems and decides them. The detection layer stays where it is.

Polco: What's the difference between Polco and open discussion platforms?

Polco emphasizes scientific surveys and benchmarking over open forums or suggestion boards, prioritizing rigorous data collection for policy decisions over broad community brainstorming.

Source
Silent Eight: Will a regulator accept AI closing alerts?

It depends on your jurisdiction and your model governance evidence. Banks typically run extended shadow mode first and phase auto-closure by alert type.

Silent Eight: Where is the company based?

Singapore, with offices in New York, London and Warsaw.

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